Black Shoes
Prologue Once upon a time, there was a girl who loved to dance very much. The girl made the mistake of putting on a pair of red shoes that, once put on, would force her to dance for eternity. The girl continued to dance day and night. Oops! This is a different story. Although, perhaps it is not so completely different, after all. Story Rue is wondering herself what she has become and Duck is worried because all Mytho sees is Tutu – not the real her. In school, Mytho comes to Rue who is wondering if he likes her or Tutu which causes her to snap at him which leads to the school to watch as Rue turns and walks away from Mytho. Fakir, meanwhile, wonders what he is to do now if he can’t stop Mytho from wanting his heart any longer and walks to a bookstore where he meets Edel who shows him the knight within the story of the Prince and the Raven and how he was killed. In school, Duck watches Rue and Mytho dancing together and admits that Rue is the one for Mytho and that she can never be that good. Afterward, Duck speaks with Rue in a friendly manner, saying the two of them are friends which causes Rue to ponder on the meaning of friends when she walks home just as Fakir wonders of how Mytho is changing as he walks home. Rue thinks on how Tutu may steal Mytho from her and at that moment Drosselmeyer’s voice speaks to her, later a crow comes and tells her of Princess Tutu’s actions. Two crows transform into black shoes of which she steps into and transforms into Princess Kraehe. Back at school, Duck has been assigned to stay after class and clean up; there she comes across a girl called Malen who has several sketches of Rue. She realizes Malen is being influenced by a shard and becomes Tutu. She retrieves the Heart Shard but before she can return it, Kraehe appears and takes a hold of the shard. Mytho enters the room to find the two where Kraehe falls to the ground when Mytho looks at her, Tutu returns the shard to the Prince. Fakir breaks into the room and calls Kraehe an ugly crow. Kraehe finally acknowledges she is a crow, smiles slyly in response and disappears. Trivia *Subtitle: Pictures at an Exhibition: The Ancient Castle *'Heart Shard:' Obsession *'Official Translation of Heart Shard:' Devotion *The opening shoe story references H.C. Andersen's The Red Shoes *Fakir goes to read Mytho's story in the Antiquariat (German for "second-hand book shop"), where we see the creepy book guy for the first time. *Edel says: "There is happiness for those who accept their fate. There is glory for those who fight against their fate." We see her as a marionette. *The title "Black Shoes" may come from Sylvia Plath's poem "Daddy", in which they are a symbol for authoritarianism and patriarchy. This foreshadows Princess Kraehe's nature. *This episode finally demonstrates Rue's transformation as Princess Kraehe by wearing the black tutu shoes crafted by the Ravens. Music *Mussorgsky, Modest (orch. Ravel): Pictures at an Exhibition: Promenade II *same: same: Tuileries (central section) *same: same: Gnomus *Mozart, Wolgang Amadeus: Marriage of Figaro: Overture *Chopin, Frederic: Waltz in b-minor, Op.69 no.2 *Mussorgsky, Modest (orch. Ravel): Pictures at an Exhibition: Bydlo *Satie, Eric: Gymnopedie No.2 *Mussorgsky, Modest (orch. Ravel): Pictures at an Exhibition: Promenade II *same: same: The Old Castle Category:Episodes Category:Season 1 Episodes